Pearl Harbor survivor Bob Fernandez, 100, dies peacefully at house 83 years after bombing

Bob Fernandez, a 100-year-old survivor of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbordied shortly after his deteriorating well being prompted him to not journey to Hawaii to attend final week’s memorial ceremony marking the 83rd anniversary of the assault.

Fernandez died peacefully Wednesday in Lodi, California, on the house of his nephew, Joe Guthrie. Guthrie’s daughter, Halie Torrrell, was holding his hand when he took his final breath. Fernandez suffered a stroke a couple of month in the past that brought about him to decelerate, however Guthrie mentioned docs attributed his situation to age.

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, DECEMBER 7, 1941, THE PEARL HARBOR ATTACK KILLED 2,403 AMERICANS AND LAUNCHED US INTO WORLD WAR II

“It was his time,” Guthrie mentioned.

Fernandez was a 17-year-old sailor aboard the USS Curtiss throughout the December 7, 1941 assault that propelled the USA into World War II. A large number cook dinner, he was ready tables and bringing espresso and meals to the sailors within the morning after they heard an alarm sounding. By way of a window, Fernandez noticed a aircraft go bearing the pink ball insignia that’s identified to be painted on Japanese planes.

Pearl Harbor Navy veteran Bob Fernandez is pictured at his house Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Lodi, California. (AP Photograph/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

He hurried down three decks to a storage room the place he and different sailors waited for somebody to open a door storing the shells so they might go them to the ship’s weapons. He instructed interviewers over time that a few of his fellow sailors prayed and cried after they heard gunshots above.

“I used to be a little bit scared as a result of I didn’t know what was occurring,” Fernandez instructed The Related Press in an interview weeks earlier than his dying.

Fernandez’s ship, the Curtiss, misplaced 21 males and almost 60 of its sailors had been injured. The bombing killed greater than 2,300 American service members. Practically half, or 1,177, had been sailors and Marines aboard the USS Arizona, which sank throughout the battle.

“We misplaced loads of good folks, you already know. They did not do something,” Fernandez mentioned. “However you by no means know what’s going to occur within the occasion of struggle.”

Fernandez had deliberate to return to Pearl Harbor final week to attend an annual commemoration. hosted by the Navy and the Nationwide Park Service, however turned too weak to make the journey, Guthrie mentioned.

He was “very proud” of his six years within the Navy, all aboard the USS Curtiss, Guthrie mentioned. Most of his informal clothes, reminiscent of hats and shirts, was service-related.

“It was utterly ingrained in him,” his nephew mentioned.

Fernandez labored as a forklift driver at a cannery in San Leandro, California, after the struggle. His spouse of 65 years, Mary Fernandez, died in 2014.

He cherished music and dancing and, till not too long ago, attended weekly musical performances at an area park and restaurant. He helped his trailer park neighbors maintain their yards till he moved in with Guthrie final yr.

“I used to be doing yard work and splitting firewood and he was swinging the ax a little bit bit,” Guthrie mentioned. “We’d name it his bodily remedy.”

Fernandez’s ideas for dwelling a protracted life included stopping consuming when you’re full and taking the steps. He mentioned it was okay to take a nap, however do one thing like laundry or dishes earlier than going to mattress. He really helpful being sort to everybody.

Guthrie mentioned he thinks Fernandez will need to be remembered for bringing pleasure to folks.

“He would rake folks’s yards in the event that they could not make it. He would paint a fence. He would assist somebody out,” Guthrie mentioned. “He gave folks cash in the event that they wanted something. He was so beneficiant and so sort. He made pals all over the place.”

Fernandez is survived by his eldest son, Robert J. Fernandez, a granddaughter and a number of other great-grandchildren.

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There are 16 identified Pearl Harbor survivors who’re nonetheless alive, based on a listing maintained by Kathleen Farley, California state president of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors. All are no less than 100 years previous.

Fernandez’s dying would have introduced that quantity to fifteen, however Farley not too long ago discovered of 1 extra survivor.